www.newlawjournal.co.uk | 30 April 2021 International justice PROFESSION 17

Medical Incident During Police Interaction’. It was only after her video came to their attention that the initial police statement was withdrawn. Without that video this might well have been yet another example of serious police misconduct that went unpunished. Because Chauvin exercised his right not to give evidence, the jurors had no opportunity to judge him in the witness box. Steve Schleicher, in his closing prosecution remarks, offered the jury a telling possible explanation as to why Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s’s neck even after his fellow officer indicated that Floyd was not registering a pulse and even though he knew he was being filmed. Was it, Schleicher asked, that The US: jury unanimity it would be a loss of face for a police officer to follow what bystanders were telling him to do? Was that why Floyd died? needed (Pt 2) After the verdicts, commentators © Henry Pan/ZUMA Wire/Shutterstock expressed the fervent hope that this case Justice is done. Michael Zander QC on the aftermath marked an end to jury decisions based on racial prejudice. The question whether in of the trial of this country jury decisions are affected by racial prejudice was investigated by IN BRIEF Aggravated sentencing allows for sentencing Professor Cheryl Thomas of University f Without video evidence one wonders that is more severe than is allowed under College, London in Are Juries Fair? whether there would have been criminal state sentencing guidelines. (Ministry of Justice, 2010, 67pp). charges, let alone a conviction. The judge also ruled that two additional f A simulation study based on a case pieces of so-called ‘Spreigl’ evidence will played to 41 all-White juries (478 jurors) here was immense relief in be allowed at sentencing. ‘Spreigl’ evidence in Winchester and Nottingham, where America—and certainly in many is evidence that relates to previous crimes, the only variation was the race of the other countries too—that the trial of bad acts or wrongs that may be relevant to the defendant and the victim, showed Tformer police officer Derek Chauvin current trial. The evidence requested by the that verdicts of all-White juries did not ended with verdicts of guilty on all three prosecution for admission relates to incidents discriminate against black and minority counts—second degree murder, third degree involving Chauvin dated August 22, 2015 ethnic (BME) defendants. (‘Jury verdicts murder and second degree manslaughter of and June 25, 2017. The judge denied requests at both courts showed no tendency for . Chauvin’s bail was revoked by both the defence and the prosecution for all-White juries to convict a Black or and he was led from the court in handcuffs. other ‘Spreigl’ evidence to be admitted. Asian defendant more than a White Given the overwhelming strength of the Judge Peter Cahill will decide on the defendant.’ (p.ii)) prosecution’s evidence and a diverse jury, sentence. Chauvin waived his right to have f Jury verdicts in a dataset of all actual an acquittal was always unlikely. But in the a jury determine the sentence. Sentencing is charges in every Crown Court in US the jury in a serious criminal case must expected to take place in eight weeks. It is England and Wales (551,669) between be unanimous and there was always the considered likely that Chauvin will appeal October 2006 and March 2008, showed possibility that the defence would succeed against both conviction and sentence. that BME defendants are three and a in persuading at least one juror to hold Unless a juror breaks the rule prohibiting half times more likely to face a jury out against conviction and thereby cause them from revealing what happened in their trial in the Crown Court relative to their a mistrial. deliberations, we cannot know what led to representation in the general population. One thought it might take the jurors several their surprisingly quick verdicts. The most f By contrast, actual jury verdicts days to sift through two weeks of evidence of powerful piece of prosecution evidence showed only small differences based over 40 witnesses, much of it technical expert was surely teenager ’s on defendant ethnicity. White and testimony. They retired on Monday afternoon famous nine minute 29 second video of Asian defendants both had a 63% jury and returned their verdict a day later after Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck. conviction rate. Black defendants had a deliberating for just over ten hours. Almost every witness, defence as well as 67% jury conviction rate. Second degree murder in prosecution, used extracts from that video. nominally carries a maximum sentence of 40 It was the central evidence in the case. Summarising the result, Professor years, but the state’s sentencing guidelines If Darnella Frazier had not filmed Thomas said (p.iii): ‘This indicates that sets the appropriate sentence for that charge Chauvin with his knee on George Floyd one stage in the criminal justice system where the defendant has no prior convictions in a prone position from start to finish, where BME groups do not face persistent at 12.5 years. In a pre-trial hearing, Judge one wonders whether there would even disproportionality is when a jury reaches a Peter Cahill approved a motion filed by the have been criminal charges, let alone a verdict.’ NLJ prosecution to allow for an argument of conviction. The initial statement put out aggravated sentencing to be heard in the by the Minnesota Police the morning after Michael Zander QC is a NLJ columnist and event that the defendant was found guilty. George Floyd’s death said: ‘Man Dies After Emeritus Professor, LSE.